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The Slim Shady LP (Eminem album)
The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released in early 1999 and features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Dina Rae and Royce da 5'9". Released by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. Eminem also became a very controversial figure within the hip hop industry, being labeled as "a misogynist, a nihilist and an advocate of domestic violence. In 2000, the album was followed by his third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP. History Eminem, real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III, released his debut album Infinite in 1996. The album was recorded at the Bass Brothers' recording studio Bassmint and was released under Web Entertainment, their Detroit-based record label. After the commercial failure that was Infinite, Eminem decided to create a sadistic, violent alter ego called Slim Shady. He said: "Boom, the name hit me, and right away I thought of all these words to rhyme with it." The alter ego served as Eminem's vent for his aggravation. From 1996 to 1997, he recorded the 36-minute long extended play Slim Shady EP. During this time, Eminem and his girlfriend Kimberly "Kim" Scott" lived in a high-crime neighborhood with their 1-year old daughter Hailie, where their house was burglarized several times. While traveling to Los Angeles, Eminem participated in the Rap Olympics, an annual nationwide battle rap competition where he placed second. The staff at Interscope who attended the Rap Olympics sent a copy of Slim Shady EP to company CEO Jimmy Iovine, who played the tape to rapper Dr. Dre, the founder of Aftermath who recalled "In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said "Find him. Now". Eminem and Dre subsequently began work on his major-label debut album. Lawsuits Eminem's mother, Deborah "Debbie" Nelson, filed a lawsuit for $10 million against him on September 17, 1999. She filed it against him based on his claim that she uses drugs in the line "I just found out my mom does more dope than I do" from "My Name Is". Eminem referred to her as a "lawsuit queen" and alleged "That's how she makes money. When I was five, she had a job on the cash register at a store that sold chips and soda. Other than that, I don't remember her working a day in her life". Track Listing All tracks written by Marshall Mathers, Jeff Bass, Andre Young/Dr. Dre, Labbi Siffre, Paul Rosenberg, Mark Bass, Zoe Winkler, Melvin Bradford, Aristotle and Ryan Montgomery. Personnel Why It Rocks # Most of the songs were memorable like the singles "My Name Is", "Guilty Conscience" and "Role Model". # The music videos for this album are also memorable, especially the music video for "My Name Is". # The production on this album is excellent. # Eminem's flow and delivery on this album is phenomenal. # Eminem sounds really good on this album. # The lyrics are great and very funny. # The album cover is nice. # There are no bad songs. # After years of being unknown to the public, this album was just the beginning of a bright future for Eminem. # Great features. # Large number of tracks combined (28). # Really funny and good skits like "Ken Kaniff" and "Public Service Announcement". # It along with The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show are some of Eminem's best projects. Bad Qualities # It sparked a lot controversy (see above). # The song "Cum on Everybody" has a really repetitive chorus. Reception Critical Reception The Slim Shady LP was generally acclaimed by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it five out of five stars, praising Em's expansive vocabulary and vivid imagination. Kyra Kyles of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it a four out four stars. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C+, describing its "unapologetic outrageouness". Soren Baker of the Los Angeles Times gave it a three and a half out four stars, stating that "He isn't afraid to say anything; his lyrics are so clever that he makes murder sound as if it's a funny act he may indulge in simply to pass the time". Steven Wells of NME gave the record a 6 out of 10 and Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave it an A-. Accolades In 2000, The Slim Shady LP won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album while the album's first single "My Name Is" won Best Rap Solo Perfomance. The album was ranked number 275 by Rolling Stone on the "Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and number 33 on its "Top 100 Best Albums of the 90's". Chart Performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications * Australia (ARIA): Platinum - 70,000 * Canada (Music Canada): 2x Platinum - 200,000 * New Zealand (RMNZ): Platinum - 15,000 * South Africa (RISA): Gold - 20,000 * United Kingdom (BPI): 3x Platinum - 1,100,000 * United States (RIAA): 5x Platinum - 5,433,000 Videos Eminem - The Slim Shady LP - Full 1999 Album|The full album. Video courtesy of Aski Crazy. Trivia *The songs "My Name Is", "Guilty Conscience", "If I Had", "Cum on Everybody", "Bad Meets Evil", "Rock Bottom" and "I'm Shady" sample "I Got The" by Labi Siffre, "Pigs Go Home" by Ronald Stein, "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers, "Gimme What You Got" by Le Pamplemouse, "Me & My Girlfriend" by 2Pac, "Modaji" by Dave Grusin, "Summertime" by Big Brother & The Holding Company (with Janes Joplin), "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield and "I'm Your Pusher" by Ice-T. *On the album's clean version, the songs "Bitch", "Cum on Everybody", "Just Don't Give a Fuck", and "Still Don't Give a Fuck" are retitled as "Zoe", "Come on Everybody", "Just Don't Give" and "Still Don't Give". Category:1990s Category:Hip hop Category:Horrorcore Category:Albums Category:Comedy hip hop Category:Hardcore hip hop Category:Eminem Category:Greatest Moments in Music History Category:Eminem albums Category:Albums that Charted at Number 1